Krasnoyarsk scientists have found a way to improve aluminum alloy with boron

Krasnoyarsk scientists have developed a new technology for producing an aluminum alloy with boron. Such alloys are stronger and more resistant to corrosion, which allows the material to be used in aviation, mechanical engineering, electronics and nuclear energy. This was reported at the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the SB RAS.

Researchers at the L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics proposed treating molten aluminum with low-frequency plasma with the addition of fullerenes. These are carbon molecules that are shaped like a soccer ball. The new method helps distribute boron evenly throughout the aluminum. This has previously been a challenge because boron does not bond well with aluminum and can clump together.

During plasma treatment, boron particles become smaller and penetrate more easily into the melt. Flows within the liquid metal then distribute them throughout the aluminum volume. Fullerenes help remove the oxide film on the surface of aluminum, which interferes with the connection with boron. At the same time, they do not leave unnecessary impurities in the alloy.

“The main advantages of the method are its ease of implementation and versatility. The plasma method makes it possible to introduce any element into any material,” noted Grigory Churilov, head of the laboratory of analytical methods for studying matter at the L. V. Kirensky Institute of Physics SB RAS.

According to the scientist, with increasing boron content, the hardness of the alloy decreases slightly. For structures that require maximum strength, this may be a disadvantage, but for many technological tasks this effect is not critical.

In the future, the researchers plan to study in more detail the structure of the new alloy and understand how its properties can be controlled. The results of the work were published in Pramana, Journal of Physics.